test-drb May 2009

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

204 participants
322 discussions

by ian_primus＠yahoo.com

I've been using this Vax 11/750 as a table for far too long. It lives in the collection, sure, amongst the PDP-11 and the Primes. But it really never gets plugged in, it just sits there with a couple terminals sitting on it, and occasionally providing me a place to lay out a manual or something. The machine works. But I can't do a bloody thing with it, because... I have no disk controller. So - does anyone happen to have an extra Unibus SMD controller they would part with? I've got plenty of SMD drives - a couple of these Seagate Sabres would work real nice for this little Vaxling. -Ian

15 years, 7 months

Does anyone have any info about 1970s-era National Semiconductor LED modules?

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

Hi, All, The Google has failed to illuminate me. I have a handful of what look like 1970s 8-digit calculator modules with National Semiconductor logos and 1975/1976 manufacturing dates. Both types of modules have the 8-bubble plastic digit magnifiers common for LED calculators of the era, but one has 6 digits-worth of diodes behind the plastic, and the other 8 digits. Both have the same external profile and number of off-board solder pads, but different numbers of pads going to places under the epoxy blob that protects the IC. One of the modules just has "650" in copper at the edge of the board, the other has M830 stamped in the same sort of ink/paint that has the NS logo and the mfg date. I know National Semi made lots of LED modules back in the day. I have a few simple digits and was able to find docs on them without much of a search. These are a puzzle. The ones with 8 digits installed are very possibly calculator modules. I've never seen this sort of display with only 6 digits out of 8 populated. I have no idea what they are, but one tangental Google hit suggests they could be DVM modules, but I supposed they could be clock modules or counter modules. If anyone would have a mid-1970s or perhaps early 1980s National Semiconductor databook that covers LED displays, that might have some info. I do not (I only have NS memory/logic books). Thanks for any hints or tips, -ethan

15 years, 7 months

35 KSR

by hamren＠sdu.se

Philipp Hachtmann wrote: > Lars Hamren schrieb: >>> And FYI - did you mean ASR 35? I didn't think there was a KSR version of the >>> 35, but I could be wrong. >> >> I have several Bulletins on the KSR and RO versions, so it does exist. > Lars, you have SEEN my 35 KSR unit! It's the one in the staircase.... I probably did, but memory fails me. I will contact you off-list about it. /Lars Hamr?n

15 years, 7 months

Datasheet: Yamaha YM7109C?

by cclist＠sydex.com

For those of you with big datasheet collections, does anyone have data for a Yamaha YM7109C? A pinout would be sufficient. 40 pin DIP- -it seems to be some sort of DSP. Circa 1990. TIA --Chuck

15 years, 7 months

Recent ASR33 teletype sale

by legalize＠xmission.com

<http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item…> Wow. I'm used to these going for $200-500 in good cosmetic condition and working order, but this one maxed out higher than I expected at $1026. -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/download/index.html> Legalize Adulthood! <http://blogs.xmission.com/legalize/>

15 years, 7 months

What was the name of that company in Grandview you got some ancient gear from?

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

Hi, Will, I was chatting with one of our IBM service guys today who has been with IBM for 13-14 years. I was describing the equipment that you pulled about two years ago, but I couldn't remember the company name (he was curious if he ever did any service there). Where was it? Thanks, -ethan

15 years, 7 months

35KSR

by hamren＠sdu.se

> And FYI - did you mean ASR 35? I didn't think there was a KSR version of the > 35, but I could be wrong. I have several Bulletins on the KSR and RO versions, so it does exist. Also, the several of the 35 bulletins at bitsavers covers the KSR model, not the ASR model. /Lars Hamr?n

15 years, 7 months

BA123 Replacement Casters - Suitable substitute found

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

Thanks for posting a source for casters. I have a BA-123 that came to me with one missing (but I think there is some bent metal on one or more corners where the casters go)*. I should probably just get 2-4 casters and be ready to replace them all. -ethan * In my experience, lots of people used to sit on BA-123s, especially people who were large enough that they should have known better.

15 years, 7 months

PDP 11/40 Unibus termination query...

by bqt＠softjar.se

Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> wrote: > On Thu, May 21, 2009 at 9:06 AM, Tom Uban <uban at ubanproductions.com> wrote: >>> >> I'll check the NPG jumpers -- here's a stupid question -- how do I find >>> >> where they're supposed to be? ?I've looked all over for a simple diagram >>> >> showing which pins are CA1 and CB1, but I'm not finding them... >> > >> > The backplane information is clearly described in the Peripherals Handbook. >> > If you don't have a copy and you intend to work with these machines, then >> > you need to get yourself a copy. > > Having worked with these machines a lot over the years, I can > personally recommend having the right handbooks on hand when > configuring things or diagnosing problems - it will save a lot of time > and grief. Back in the day, we always had them and we used them > frequently. > >> > The 'C' in CXX is the slot... > > Another way to see is to look at a dual-height Unibus grant card and > note which pair of pins is shorted together on the "C" finger (the one > that only has one pair of pins shorted, not the one that has 3 pairs > of pins shorted). If you don't _have_ a dual-height grant card, you > are going to have to get very familiar with where the NPR pins are > because you are going to be wrapping and unwrapping that jumper on the > backplane every time you insert or remove cards. Those dual height grant cards are excellent for people who aren't overly sure and experienced with this, since they are hard to insert the wrong way as well. So you both can check which pins should be shorted, and you don't have to fiddle with the NPG line. It is also not totally uncommon for people to also insert the grant cards reversed... But you don't need to remove the NPG wire every time you insert a card. You only need to do it for cards that do DMA. By the way, Tom Uban made a great ascii chart of a backplane slot. That should be useful for lots of people who play with DEC equipment, for the same notation is used on all older DEC backplanes, not only Unibus. It's actually this backplane format that defines a flip chip. (Most people errounosly seem to think that the bus grant cards are called flip chip, they are just one example of a flip chip.) Johnny -- Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus || on a psychedelic trip email: bqt at softjar.se || Reading murder books pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol

15 years, 7 months

Re-installing a TouchTone keypad in an ASR-33

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

Hi, All, I know I've mentioned this long-outstanding project before, but just this week, I've had a couple of nudges towards getting it done... First, Will Donzelli stopped by on his Eastward Progress to deliver some PDP-8 gear to me, and in the process of showing him around my Farm, I pointed out this ASR-33 w/110 bps modem in the pedestal. Second, I just found the box of telephone parts with two pre-IC-era touchtone keypads, one of which I'm positive I removed from the TTY years ago when I was tearing it apart (in ignorance) to attempt to remove the modem, etc., and make it a viable console TTY for my (first) PDP-8/L. So... what I still lack is proper documentation to know how to install the TouchTone pads. I'm thinking it'll be much easier these days to find a PDF than it ever would have to find real paper in the 1980s when I bought the TTY at Dayton. My question (for now) is... how I can tell which of these two keypads is likely to be the right unit. They are superficially identical, but one has 7 wires, the other 11 as follows... Both: Green, Red, Black, White, Blue/White, Black/Orange, Red/Green One: Purple, Blue, Orange, White/Green There is what appears to be a date-code on the bobbin transformers on the 7-wire pad of 3-77 vs 12-80 on the 11-wire pad. If that _is_ a date code, I'd wager the 3-77 unit is from the ASR-33 simply because I don't think I would have been able to pick up a 3-4-year-old ASR-33 at Dayton for $35 or so, but I can believe that a 7-8-year-old unit could have been that cheap. OTOH, I can see how a data device might need a more complicated keypad (there appear to be additional levels of switches compared to the simpler one, thus it suggests where the extra 4 wires are going). I'm thinking that I probably just loosened the screw terminals in the ASR-33 and removed the keypad to either get it out of the way or because I thought I might recycle it into something else. Now, give that I know there are differences other than the modem in the one TTY, I'm probably unlikely to attempt to convert it to a 6-wire console-capable TTY, and would like to restore the modem-equipped TTY to its original functionality. Does anyone on the list know of a good resource for 1970s-1980s telephone techology that is available (i.e., not something that Western Electric/Lucent is sitting on that's for internal use only)? I have PDFs for the mechanical bits of an ASR-33; those have been floating around for some time (and I have them on paper, too, that came with my console-capable TTY). I lack any modem-equipped-model-specific docs. Those would be most helpful, as I could reinstall the TouchTone pad in a few minutes once I knew what wires go where. Thanks for any tips and pointers. -ethan

15 years, 7 months

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test-drb May 2009